Well look at that!

<warning type="heavy geek content">
Before you read any further, this post can be summed up with one sentence: When creating an anchor in HTML, and you use target="_blank", remember that it's case-sensitive. Okay, that being said, if you want to read on, feel free.

I just realized something, about creating the links in my posts. I always use target="_BLANK", to have the links open up in a new window, but I just realized that I should be using lowercase _blank, instead of uppercase _BLANK.

If I use _blank, then every link will result in a new window, but if I use the uppercase _BLANK, IE just uses that for the name of the window. Any subsequent links which use _BLANK for their target will replace the first one, because IE thinks you're trying to have the link go to a named window.

For example, without closing any windows, click this (_blank) and then click this (_blank). Those links should have opened up two new windows, one for Yahoo and one for Microsoft. Now click this (_BLANK), and then click this (_BLANK). This is where I was surprised; the link for CNET will open in a new window (which IE thinks is named "_BLANK"), and then the link for Blogger will open in that same window, because IE thinks that the link should be opening in a new window, named "_BLANK".

You know, this is stuff that I should have already known. Oh well.
</warning>